Mt. Tremblant
Our friends invited us to Mt. Tremblant this past Saturday. It was a perfect day to escape into the countryside. The sky was such a clear, vivid blue that became electrifying against the red and yellow hues of the trees. It really was an example of an idyllic autumn day.
The village of Mt. Tremblant itself was notable for its absolute focus on architecture, design and layout. Every building's architecture matched, flowed into the next building, the main chair lift goes right through the courtyard of one the hotels, including a set of fountains designed to be viewed from the chair lift while it is moving. Every last speck of paint looks as fresh as if it were painted yesterday - and the colours are pretty distinct. Not one thing is out of place, despite the bustle. The mountain itself is very picturesque, and the water falls near the village are magnificient enough to distract you from thinking how small a mountain Mt. Tremblant really is when compared to the Rocky Mountains.
But it takes a little bit longer to hike down Mt. Tremblant than it does to ski it. The trail our friends chose was 6.5 km from summit to base. Had I known that in advance, I would not have chosen to wear my favourite sneakers, turquoise Onitsuka Tigers, which happen to be part suede / part fine mesh. Not mud proof. Especially not on trails that have become mountain streams because it had been raining all week. But the hike was very beautiful and I don't regret it. There were many wonderful sights, even after the 2 km-I-am-totally-fed-up-&-can't-take-this-anymore-mark. The last 2 km were especially magical. The sun was getting pretty low by this time, and were walking through a water logged forest dotted with the occaisional beaver dam. We were walking through this gentle golden light, as it swirled around and enevloped us. This lasted for about an hour, right up to the last 10 minutes of the trek. I was walking along the path, and the golden light was bathing everything on my left, and to my right the light began to fade, and I saw a little delicate tree with bright green leaves. These leaves, a bright chartreuse colour, were stretching toward the golden light like hands warming themselves in front of a fire. That was border, where the golden world ended and the modern world began again. We soon reached the falls, which are better enjoyed on a non-holiday weekend - there was just too many people milling about, ruining the natural beauty of the water. All in all, it was a trip much appreciated by a long-time non-car owning city dweller such as myself.
The village of Mt. Tremblant itself was notable for its absolute focus on architecture, design and layout. Every building's architecture matched, flowed into the next building, the main chair lift goes right through the courtyard of one the hotels, including a set of fountains designed to be viewed from the chair lift while it is moving. Every last speck of paint looks as fresh as if it were painted yesterday - and the colours are pretty distinct. Not one thing is out of place, despite the bustle. The mountain itself is very picturesque, and the water falls near the village are magnificient enough to distract you from thinking how small a mountain Mt. Tremblant really is when compared to the Rocky Mountains.
But it takes a little bit longer to hike down Mt. Tremblant than it does to ski it. The trail our friends chose was 6.5 km from summit to base. Had I known that in advance, I would not have chosen to wear my favourite sneakers, turquoise Onitsuka Tigers, which happen to be part suede / part fine mesh. Not mud proof. Especially not on trails that have become mountain streams because it had been raining all week. But the hike was very beautiful and I don't regret it. There were many wonderful sights, even after the 2 km-I-am-totally-fed-up-&-can't-take-this-anymore-mark. The last 2 km were especially magical. The sun was getting pretty low by this time, and were walking through a water logged forest dotted with the occaisional beaver dam. We were walking through this gentle golden light, as it swirled around and enevloped us. This lasted for about an hour, right up to the last 10 minutes of the trek. I was walking along the path, and the golden light was bathing everything on my left, and to my right the light began to fade, and I saw a little delicate tree with bright green leaves. These leaves, a bright chartreuse colour, were stretching toward the golden light like hands warming themselves in front of a fire. That was border, where the golden world ended and the modern world began again. We soon reached the falls, which are better enjoyed on a non-holiday weekend - there was just too many people milling about, ruining the natural beauty of the water. All in all, it was a trip much appreciated by a long-time non-car owning city dweller such as myself.
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